Today is Sunday, May 14.  Happy Mother’s Day!  There are only 180 days until my birthday.  Get in touch with me if you need ideas.  Today we remember the birthdays of Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, Otto Klemperer and George Lucas.  On this day in 1607 the first permanent English settlement in the new world, Jamestown, was established, in 1804 Lewis and Clark set out from St Louis for the Pacific Coast and in 1980 the Department of Health and Human Services began operations.  In Liberia it is Unification Day, in Malawi it is Kamuzu Day and in the US it is Mother’s Day, National Buttermilk Biscuit Day and National Dance Like a Chicken Day.

Since it is Mother’s Day, it is time to open your trivia folder.  In the US, the celebration of Mother’s Day began in the early 20^th century.  Feel free to go into the archive section of the blog for previous years to learn more about how it all started.  It is a celebration honoring the mother of the person, as well as motherhood, maternal bond and the influence of mothers in society.  It is not related to the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele or the Roman festival of Hilaria.

While the US holiday has been adopted by over 80 countries, existing celebrations have been described as “Mother’s Day”, such as Mothering Sunday in Ireland, Nigeria and the UK.  Many countries, including Albania, Kosovo and Uzbekistan observe it as part of International Women’s Day.  In South Korea it is observed on Parents’ Day.  That should fill your need for holiday information for now.

Speaking of mothers, I saw a sign recently that has me puzzled.  The sign was for a church.  The name of the church was “Mary Mother of God” and that is what confuses me.  If Mary is the mother of God, then that would make God the brother of Jesus.  In that case then who, in fact, was the father?  More to the point, if God is the creator of everything, why would he need a mother?  When I mentioned this to Barbara, she asked me if I am like this with everything.  I said yes and she just shook her head.

As you may recall, I mentioned that the grocery store I go to all the time had removed all the cart corrals and I wondered what the plan was.  As it turns out, the reason they had been removed was because the lot was being repaved.  This made it more exciting the other day when I went and found that they had repaved, but the parking spaces had not been repainted yet.  So now, in addition to the carts being left all over, people were parking wherever they felt like it and however they felt like parking.  Suddenly there were four foot spaces between cars and cars straddling what would have been two spaces had lines been there.  In addition, carts were being collected and then left in long lines, blocking two or three spaces, or what would be that many if lines were painted.  

I was there yesterday and they had painted the spaces.  The corrals are not back yet and the carts are still left all over the lot.  They are still collecting them and leaving them in lines, blocking spaces.  But here is where it gets better.  The handicap spaces have not been painted yet.  The signs are there, but no one seems to be paying any attention to them. 

The topper is in another section of spaces.  This store allows you to order on line and then come pick up your groceries.  They have special spaces, with signs, for those pick ups.  The spaces are painted a different color and apparently, the space painters only had white with them the day they were there.  When I got to the parking lot yesterday, I was walking to the store and I noticed several cars in the pick up area.  What made it interesting was that the cars were parked at an angle.  Every other car in the lot was parked straight in, except for these three cars.  There were no lines for them and there were signs indicating that these spaces were reserved, but there was nothing that would make someone think they should park at an angle.  Except, of course for those three cars.  Sometimes you look at people like that and you have to wonder who ties their shoes.

This week our fact tells us that in York, Pennsylvania you can’t sit down while watering your lawn with a hose.  Why?  Does this mean that if a hose is being used, for example a hose attached to a sprinkler, you cannot sit down?  What if you go inside?  Or does it just mean if you are standing outside, holding a garden hose and spraying water on your lawn?  For that matter, what difference does it make whether you are standing or sitting? You are still using the same amount of water.  Yes, Barbara, I am like this with everything.

If you can, call your mother and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day!  Now go have a buttermilk biscuit and dance like a chicken.  Film the dance, if possible.  I am sure we would love to see it.